Design Decisions: Automation in Rollforming

Rollforming of sheet metal plays an integral role in the building and construction of commercial and industrial structures. We come across things that have been rollformed every day without taking notice of them: guardrails that keep your car from going over the edge on the road, ceiling tees, roof sheeting, purlins, shelving, window and door frames, balustrades, flashings, gutters, ovens, and much more.

Homemade rollformers
Metal rollforming can be an intricate process. Precision and accuracy are fundamental in the rollforming process to ensure a high-quality end result. Many companies have built their own rollformers, and often they work if run at slow speed without intricate punching where precise length and spacing are critical. But for top outputs, top-of-the-range machinery is required. The top rollforming machines are expensive, because they are designed by qualified and experienced rollforming mechanical engineers using the best materials available. They are also guaranteed to produce a final product without huge amounts of waste due to poor engineering. This kind of accuracy in the end product only comes from using top-quality machines that are perfectly engineered and come at a price to match.

A machine operator setting up a rollforming machine.

Labor in rollforming
Faced with an increasingly uncertain and volatile global economic climate, many businesses today are seeking alternative ways to cut costs in an effort to ensure that profit levels remain optimal. The rate of technological breakthrough in the realms of industrial machinery is reducing the need for manual labor.

Modernization in the workplace is an inescapable reality facing today's factory owners. The cost of machinery relative to the cost of labor and materials means it is now cost-effective to use quality, high-speed automated equipment above manually operated, labor-intensive machinery.

Rollforming can be labor intensive where each small machine does one specific task and is managed by a machine minder and two helpers. It is a process that is open to human error and resultant losses in productivity and production. Companies that have moved toward automation have seen a resulting increase in hassle-free production and unmistakable growth in their competitive advantage.

"Spending money on high-tech equipment adds value to your business, makes it more competitive, and reduces the headache of many labor issues," said Greg Fuchsloch, CEO of Metalforming Technology SA, one of the leading suppliers of metal rollforming machines. "It also means you will upskill your staff, giving them a better understanding of the job on hand and giving you a faster turnaround time and a greater competitive edge."

As global demand for services and products continues to rise, the need for faster, higher-output, reliable, time-saving, and cost-effective machinery has become essential for companies wishing to remain competitive and profitable.

"Our top-of-the-line machines can be run by one person on the floor, while the manager sits at his desk keeping a eye on the output of the line on his computer, in real-time. No longer does he have to run to the floor to find out which job is on the machine and give vague guesstimates of when a job will be ready," said Fuchsloch. "We are talking about having your finger on the pulse of your business."

Excellent article Dylan. Rollforming is a very old technology but one that has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. The advent of machinery that will completely automate the roll forming process is available--at a price. Set-up, of course, is dependent upon knowledgeable individuals who know the equipment. Some months ago I visited a company that manufactures corrugated roofing panels. Their rollforming operation was a real eye-opener. The speed at which the material was formed was absolutely amazing and the product was definitely well within specifications and tolerances. I can't remember the number of feet produced each minute but the main impediment was storing the inventory. They actually had two buildings for this. As I recall, they produced six or seven colors using pre-painted material. This company fabricated and maintained their own dies. The owner indicated it was a real specialty and trusted no one to do that job. Again, great article.

Thanks for the informative article about something I haven't given much thought to until now, nor knew much about! It does make sense to move to automation in many industries, that's for certain. As, apresher said, it definitely isn't the other way around! And humans can be repurposed more effectively based on the processes machines take over...hopefully, anyway, rather than being displaced.

Good article. Higher levels of automation is generally a job preserver and creator, and a way to achieve productivity, quality and cost improvements. There certainly isn't a trend to more manual labor in manufacturing. Thanks.

Industrial workplaces are governed by OSHA rules, but this isn’t to say that rules are always followed. While injuries happen on production floors for a variety of reasons, of the top 10 OSHA rules that are most often ignored in industrial settings, two directly involve machine design: lockout/tagout procedures (LO/TO) and machine guarding.

Load dump occurs when a discharged battery is disconnected while the alternator is generating current and other loads remain on the alternator circuit. If left alone, the electrical spikes and transients will be transmitted along the power line, leading to malfunctions in individual electronics/sensors or permanent damage to the vehicle’s electronic system. Bottom line: An uncontrolled load dump threatens the overall safety and reliability of the vehicle.

While many larger companies are still reluctant to rely on wireless networks to transmit important information in industrial settings, there is an increasing acceptance rate of the newer, more robust wireless options that are now available.

To those who have not stepped into additive manufacturing, get involved as soon as possible. This is for the benefit of your company. When the new innovations come out, you want to be ready to take advantage of them immediately, and that takes knowledge.

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